YHK - yet another hacker news clone

I doubt any rare valuable book is being destroyed. If a book were valuable, it would make sense to scan it non-destructively. This is especially the case for old rare books that are long out of copyright; the copyright motivation for not keeping the original copy around does not exist.

The books being destroyed as so worthless they're bought in bulk and were destined for junking anyway, like the 600 million books that are destroyed each year just in the US. At least as pulp they can contribute something of slight value.

Here's a way these old supposed valuable books can get a new life. Go wild! Prices start at $12.99 per linear foot. This clearly demonstrates the value society assigns to these precious rectangular prisms of inked cellulose.

https://booksbythefoot.com/

I have a sneaking suspicion the whole tempest-in-a-teapot was astroturfed by publishers who were miffed at the courts looking favorably on scanning for AI training.

[delayed]